Effect of negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy on the treatment of pressure ulcers

Objective To study the effect of negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy on the treatment of pressure ulcers. Methods From January 2015 to December 2016, 60 patients with pressure ulcers over Ⅲ stage admitted in Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Air Force General Hospital, People′s Liberation Army, were divided into 3 groups according to the random number table method: conventional dressing change group, negative pressure wound therapy group and negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy group, 20 cases in each group. Conventional dressing change group and negative pressure wound therapy group were respectively given conventional dressing method, negative pressure wound treatment. Negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy group was given negative pressure to attract wounds with local oxygen therapy. Immediately after admission, at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th week after treatment, the maximum length, width, depth, exudation, tissue type and wound shrinkage were observed. Date were processed with analysis of variance and LSD test. Results The length, width and depth of pressure ulcers in the negative pressure wound therapy group were significantly decreased as compared to conventional dressing change group, while the decrease in negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy group was more significant, the differences were statistically significant (with P values below 0.05). The length, width and depth in conventional dressing group at the 8th week after treatment were (3.04±0.43), (3.63±0.88), and (1.55±0.77) cm, while in the negative pressure wound therapy group were (2.14±0.71), (2.65±1.27), and (1.05±0.62) cm, and in negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy group, there were (1.17±0.28), (1.39±2.37), and (0.58±0.45) cm. In the negative pressure wound therapy group, the exudation was reduced, the wound granulation tissue was increased, and the wound size was more reduced. All the above effect in the negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy group were obviously superior to negative pressure wound therapy group, the differences were statistically significant (with P values below 0.05). Conclusion Negative pressure wound therapy combined with local oxygen therapy can significantly promote wound healing, reduce exudation and promote the growth of granulation of pressure ulcers, it is better than the only use of negative pressure treatment, which can be applied as a new effective treatment method in the future. Key words: Pressure ulcer; Negative-pressure wound therapy; Oxygen; Wound healing